Decks & Patios with a Pacific Palisades Rebuild
Decks and patios drawn with a Pacific Palisades rebuild: fire-listed decking, engineered footings, a flashed ledger and paving that sheds water off the house.
Can we put the deck back where it was? The old footprint on a cleared Pacific Palisades lot is a useful start. The new deck is drawn with the house, to the code in force now. Parts of the area are mapped for fire hazard, and on those parcels the boards themselves have to meet ember rules, while what sits beneath the deck counts as much as the boards. Ledger height, stair landing and patio grade get set while the plans are open.
Under the boards
The frame that carries a deck deserves as much thought as its surface. Posts land on footings the engineer sizes for the load and the soil, and post bases keep end grain off the concrete. Joists hang in connectors rated for the treated lumber they touch, and on a lot close to the water those connectors and every screw come in stainless or a heavy zinc coat. Leaves and stored items under a deck give embers fuel, so the space below is either left open for easy cleanout or closed with noncombustible skirting and screened vents. Stairs get their own footings and a rail that meets guard height.
A patio graded away from the house
Ground at a new foundation should fall away from it, and a patio is the largest surface that either helps or fights that. The subgrade is cut and compacted, crushed rock is spread and tamped, and the concrete or pavers are set with a slight pitch toward a yard drain or open soil. Against a plastered wall the paving stays low enough to keep the weep screed clear. If you want shade, the engineer sizes the posts and footings for a cover, and where the lot falls in a mapped fire hazard area it is detailed for ember resistance, from roof panels to post wraps.
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Decks & Patios in Pacific Palisades: questions
If fire hazard maps cover your lot, the deck surface needs a listing as ignition-resistant, a noncombustible build, or a pass under the state test for deck assemblies. Some capped composites, certain tropical hardwoods and exterior fire-retardant-treated lumber can qualify. A listing names a specific product line and sometimes a specific color, so we read that sheet before ordering.
An LADBS inspector checks the deck in stages. First the dug footings, with rebar or post anchors in place, before any concrete arrives. Then the open frame: ledger bolts, the flashing behind and above the ledger, hanger nailing, beam and joist sizes against the plans, and the blocking at guard posts that will hold the rail. Boards are fastened only after that sign-off.
Yes, and the timing helps. With the walls still open, the ledger can bolt into new rim joists and its flashing can lap under the weather barrier, a detail that is awkward to retrofit through finished stucco or siding. The deck goes on the same plan set, so one review covers both. If the deck has to wait, we can still set and flash the ledger now.
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